SONNETS OF
SHAKESPEARE
Sonnets of Shakespeare
• 154 Sonnets, mostly written during 1592-98.
• First published by Thomas Thorpe in quarto form in
1609.
• First 126 sonnets are addressed to WH (Henry
Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton or William Herbert,
Earl of Pembroke.
• These sonnets depicts a kind of spiritual love.
• Next 26 sonnets are addressed to Dark Lady (Mary
Fitton, Emilia Lanier or Lucy Morgan) Depicting
overtly erotic and physical love.
• Last two sonnets(153,154) are about Cupid.
• Focus on a mythical story involving Cupid, The God of
love.
• Based on a poem in the Greek Anthology attributed
to Marcianus Scholasticus.
• 5th century AD) It was quite common in the age of
Petrarch to take the themes for sonnets from Greek
mythology.
Themes of Sonnets
• Love - A source of great joy as well as great worry for the
speaker.
• Broken trust of friend - The young man and the Dark Lady fall
in love with each other.
• Loss of Love - Young man's rejection of the poet and the
darklady's multiple sexual partners
• .Forgiveness - Another character, Rival poet probably George
Chapman.
• Sonnet sequences in the 16th century were not confessional
narratives.
Anti Petrarchan elements
The sonnets depart from petrarchan conventions in
the following ways :
1. Subvert conventional gender roles.
2. Not idealized, but a complex and troubled view of
love.
3. Makes fun of love, beauty and petrarchan
conventions.
Style :- 3 quartrains and a couplet. Rhyme scheme
"abab cdcd efef gg".
Sonnet no 99 has 15 lines. Sonnet no 126 has 12 lines.
Sonnets 1 to 17 are called Procreation sonnets. All are
addressed to the young man. These may be addressed
to the Earl of Southampton at the time when he was
resisting marriage. In these sonnets the poet persuades
his friend to start a family so that his beauty can live on
through his children. Francis Meres in "Palladis Tamia“
or "Wits Treasury" praised the "sugared sonnets" of
Shakespeare. Wordsworth made a famous claim, "With
this key Shakespeare unlocked his heart".
Previous Year Questions
1. The first folio of Shakespeare's plays was published
by?
A. Isaac Tyler & Henry Condell
B. William Benthen & Richard Burbage
C. William Jaggard, Isaac & Ed Blount
D. Bill Clough and Ivan
Answer : C. William Jaggard, Isaac & Ed Blount
2. Shakespeare's Sonnets were published in?
A. 1604 B. 1609 C. 1612 D. 1614
Answer : B. 1609
3. Which critic of Shakespeare divided his dramatic
career in to four stages?
A. Dr. Johnson B. Dowden
C. Quiller Couch D. Saintsbur
Answer : A. Dr. Johnson
4. When was the third folio of the collected plays of
Shakespeare first published?
A. 1664 B. 1666 C. 1669 D. 1672
Answer : 1664
5. Name the first editor of Shakespeare?
A. Nicholas Rowe B. Alexander Pope
C. Lewis Theobald D. William Warburton
Answer : A. Nicholas Rowe (1 biographer too)
6. Name a popular Indian Critic of Shakespeare?
A. C D Narasimhaiah B. K. Nagarajan
C. Meenakshi Mukherjee D. K R Sreenivasa Iyengar
Answer : D. K R Sreenivasa Iyengar
7. Shakespeare was called an "upstart crow"by?
A. William Hazlitt B. Charles Lamb
C. Thomas Rymer D. Robert Greene
Answer : D. Robert Greene
8. How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?
A. 154 B. 155 C. 153 D. 150
Answer : A. 154
9. The theatre in which Shakespeare is said to have
had a proprietary interest?
A. Red Lion B. Red Bull C. Theatre D. Globe
Answer : D. Globe
10. The first published edition of the collected works of
Shakespeare in 1623 is called the __________?
A. Folio B. Quarto C. Octavo D. Demi Octavo
Answer: A. Folio
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